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Israeli diplomat arrested in Argentina

September 8, 2014

An Israeli diplomat, who served as the deputy ambassador, was forcefully arrested by police officers in front of his wife and children. It was only after the speedy intervention of Israel’s honorary consul in Cordoba and the district’s governor that the diplomat was freed and further drama averted. The diplomat and his family were vacationing near Cordoba, when a police cruiser pulled their vehicle over – though the car carried diplomatic license plates – claiming he had committed a traffic violation. The deputy ambassador presented his diplomatic credentials, though the officers were not impressed and broke into fierce arguments. The officers claimed the diplomat was insolent and they decided to arrest him. The diplomat claimed they used force to lay him down on the floor and handcuff him – in front of his wife and children.

The deputy ambassador was taken to a police station in Cordoba. He was “rescued” by Israel’s long-serving honorary consul in Cordoba, Alejandro Orjanski – a well-known business personality in Argentina – who was called to the police station and quickly involved the local governor.

After the district governor’s intervention, an order was given to the officers to release the deputy ambassador and not leave him under arrest overnight. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson released a statement: “There was an event in which officers stopped the vehicle of an Israeli representative, and then arrested him. But after the quick intervention of the district governor, the event was concluded without further incident. The diplomat was released unconditionally and no complaint was filed by either side.” In recent days the diplomat ended his mission to Argentina and moved to the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. This was not the only incident in which an Israeli diplomat was involved. Recently, an Israeli diplomat was stopped in Moscow by traffic officers after committing a traffic violation. The officers let the diplomat know “she was in trouble.”

But after identifying as an Israeli and presenting her diplomatic credentials, the officers told her: “You are lucky to not be from the US or the European Union – we have a problem with them and received an order to toughen up on them.” The Israeli diplomat was relieved to hear that she was not on the warning list, likely because of Israel’s current popularity in Russia, but before letting her free, the officers told her: “Who knows, maybe in the future Israel will also be blacklisted.”